Yesterday afternoon, Sally, Natalie and I drove over to Rochester for the Bop Fest, a fairly intimate (I'd guess no more than a couple hundred folks, if that) musical gathering featuring several bands. The one I most wanted to see was headliner Amy Rigby, performing with her husband Wreckless Eric (that's them in the photo above). The show was sponsored by The Bop Shop, the premier record store in Rochester (and one of the better ones you'll find anywhere anymore). There was a rain shower that delayed things a little bit, and the local Gay Pride parade passed by the venue (an old industrial complex converted into retail space, with a nice central courtyard, where the musicians played) which drew virtually the entire crowd over to the street to take a look, causing another brief intermission. But despite those interruptions, it was a pretty good time.
The Tarbox Ramblers preceded Amy/Eric to the stage, and they performed a spirited electric country blues set. The persevered without their bassist, who leader Johnny Tarbox informed us was in the process of having a baby, "maybe at that very moment." If he hadn't mentioned the absence, I for one wouldn't have noticed-- and I mean that as a compliment, as the remaining duo was quite good regardless.
When the headliners finally came on, they were also clearly having a good time, despite the weather delay. The two complemented each other, in style and personality, and it's easy to see how they hooked up (Eric told a great story of how they met when Amy did a show in his hometown of Hull, England and performed a cover of his most famous song, "Whole Wide World," but used the wrong chords). The highlight of their set, for me, was Rigby's vigorous performance of "Dancing With Joey Ramone" from her Little Fugitives album. My only complaint about their show was that there was minimal (maybe three or four songs) material from Rigby's deep catalogue, with much of the focus on Eric's composition,s and songs off their recent collaborative recording. But it was entertaining, nonetheless.
However, I think Natalie (despite her protestations to the contrary) might've preferred a show where the performers (and for that matter, the bulk of the audience) were a bit more on her side of 50. Ah, youth!
Yesterday afternoon, Sally, Natalie and I drove over to Rochester for the Bop Fest, a fairly intimate (I'd guess no more than a couple hundred folks, if that) musical gathering featuring several bands. The one I most wanted to see was headliner Amy Rigby, performing with her husband Wreckless Eric (that's them in the photo above). The show was sponsored by The Bop Shop, the premier record store in Rochester (and one of the better ones you'll find anywhere anymore). There was a rain shower that delayed things a little bit, and the local Gay Pride parade passed by the venue (an old industrial complex converted into retail space, with a nice central courtyard, where the musicians played) which drew virtually the entire crowd over to the street to take a look, causing another brief intermission. But despite those interruptions, it was a pretty good time.
The Tarbox Ramblers preceded Amy/Eric to the stage, and they performed a spirited electric country blues set. The persevered without their bassist, who leader Johnny Tarbox informed us was in the process of having a baby, "maybe at that very moment." If he hadn't mentioned the absence, I for one wouldn't have noticed-- and I mean that as a compliment, as the remaining duo was quite good regardless.
When the headliners finally came on, they were also clearly having a good time, despite the weather delay. The two complemented each other, in style and personality, and it's easy to see how they hooked up (Eric told a great story of how they met when Amy did a show in his hometown of Hull, England and performed a cover of his most famous song, "Whole Wide World," but used the wrong chords). The highlight of their set, for me, was Rigby's vigorous performance of "Dancing With Joey Ramone" from her Little Fugitives album. My only complaint about their show was that there was minimal (maybe three or four songs) material from Rigby's deep catalogue, with much of the focus on Eric's composition,s and songs off their recent collaborative recording. But it was entertaining, nonetheless.
However, I think Natalie (despite her protestations to the contrary) might've preferred a show where the performers (and for that matter, the bulk of the audience) were a bit more on her side of 50. Ah, youth!
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